Anyone recollect anything about them, what is up with the brake bridge?

Last edited by Sparky on 10/11/17 10:42 AM; edited 2 times in total

ddddJoined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 3180
Location: NorCal

10/11/17 12:15 AM

Crescent was I believe made in Switzerland.

This one is not for racing, has the brake bridge integral with a solid mount for a Swiss Pletscher rack.

Crescents as a brand don't seem to much pique the interest if vintage bike collectors, perhaps they lack much in the way of a racing pedigree.

Mondia was another popular Swiss marque, most of these that turn up are high-end sport-tourers with bar-end shifters, from around 1971.

SparkyJoined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 16158
Location: Portland, OR

10/11/17 12:34 AM

He claims it is Reynolds 531, has a decal. The seat stays and that brake bridge make me think the 531 sticker is on there in vein. The Seat Stay terminus to the seat lug cluster look non 531 to me.

dan emeryJoined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 5857
Location: Maine

10/11/17 2:50 AM

Crescents

I used to see Crescent racing bikes in the '70s and '80s, the signature orange as pictured. They are Swedish bikes. Some were stainless steel. I thought they were cool bikes. It could be 531, though I don't know the deal on the brake bridge - looks to be for a rack as dddd says, though I'm not sure that means it wasn't used for racing - my old PX-10 had eyelets for a rack for example.

For some reason I remember barely outsprinting a guy on an orange Crescent in a crit in '75 - I think it got me a place in Cat 4, good enough for a prize and points toward moving to Cat 3.

Saw John Howard race a huge Crescent bike at the Traveler's Criterium many moons ago. Heard later that it may have been an Eisentraut. He towered over everyone in that race. Easy to track him as he lapped most of the field. Had a lot of interest in Crescent bikes at the bike shop after that race.

Brian NystromJoined: 26 Jan 2004
Posts: 3905
Location: Nashua, NH

10/11/17 10:41 AM

One of my training partners back in the '70's had a stainless Crescent. It seemed to be nicely made and IIRC, it was the first stainless bike on the market.

For several years in the 80's, the Crescent 92309 Competition belonged to the most popular sports models. Sleeved frame with rather light pipes combined with a more extensive frame geometry and practical features such as shields, parcel holders and stands gave an all-round hoist for cycling to work or to the store.

Last edited by Sparky on 10/14/17 10:52 PM; edited 1 time in total

ddddJoined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 3180
Location: NorCal

10/11/17 10:32 PM

I concur, the decal likely should be for Mangalloy, which is a decent tubing just a tad heavier than chromoly due to the need for thicker walls.

There were apparently some top-tier production racing bikes built at the Merckx factory and branded as crescents in the late 1980's.

I have a Swedish DBS bike that is a near-exact, lower-quality copy of a Schwinn Varsity, right down to the exact frame geometry and Swedish clone of the one-piece Ashtabula crankset that uses 1/2"-threaded pedals.
Hard to imagine any country as far North as Sweden making bikes for their home market.

SparkyJoined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 16158
Location: Portland, OR

10/11/17 11:31 PM

It has a 531 decal at the top of the downtube as in the pic placement. But the seat stays are not 531 I am thinking. The rest of the decals on the subject frame are correct and correctly placed

Brian NystromJoined: 26 Jan 2004
Posts: 3905
Location: Nashua, NH

10/12/17 5:16 AM

It probably just has 531 main tubes, judging by the overall component level of the bike. IIRC, 531 was available in straight gauge tubes, which is likely what these are, unless the sticker states "butted". Again, IIRC, butted tubing stickers had a diagonal "531" logo.

SparkyJoined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 16158
Location: Portland, OR

10/12/17 8:16 AM

daddy-oJoined: 12 Apr 2004
Posts: 2977
Location: Springfield

10/12/17 9:15 AM

24?

SparkyJoined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 16158
Location: Portland, OR

10/12/17 10:41 AM

24???

daddy-oJoined: 12 Apr 2004
Posts: 2977
Location: Springfield

10/12/17 11:47 AM

Decal #24 is the most similar to the Crescent decal, and the description seems to fit.

SparkyJoined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 16158
Location: Portland, OR

10/12/17 11:50 AM

Oh I saw no pic in your post. Blocked for embedding I guess.

Was able to copy the link and see it, thanks.

Makes the seat stays on there make sense. Going to grab it and do it up like I had done the Bridgestone 400, and I have the Kobe frameset to do up similarly.

This Crescent appears to have the original fork that got chromed and looks excellent in the pics. Will see it in person Friday.

Plan is to paint like the Bridgestone. That was gold metallic with over yellow base with tangerine tinted clear.

Next one will be silver metallic over dark base with Orange tinted clear, white panels.

The Kobe I may do the same base and emerald green or a darker blue tinted clear. Leave the panels and headtube in the silver.

daddy-oJoined: 12 Apr 2004
Posts: 2977
Location: Springfield

10/12/17 12:04 PM

I got a 'broken photo' icon too right after I wrote that post, but it healed its self. It was posted with the standard forum Img tool.

I did get it, the drilling done well and the hole still has the wire and grommet in it.

The fork was chromed, and may well be worth the price of admission, or near with near zero defect. I'd rather it was orange matching and decent cond. ;)

60 Space bucks, Original cranks/BB and headset. will see if serviceable, but looks like with service they should be judging by current state.

Agree this orange is way way cool. I may try to clean it up rather than paint it. Really like the color in person. But it all depends on touch up color choices matching. I did well on nail polish touch ups on the SLX Colnago before selling it for $1k. But my drop fill experience with guitars probably helps a lot there of the finished repairs. ;)

I think the rack/bridge plate for the rear is an opportunity for fitting both 700C and bigger tires regarding assistance in the caliper reach dept.

Last edited by Sparky on 10/14/17 11:19 PM; edited 1 time in total

ddddJoined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 3180
Location: NorCal

10/14/17 9:30 PM

I'd guess that most of the roadie contingent including vintagistas would consider the plate to be a sign of El Cheapo, it does add weight and lend a certain utilitarian "flair". But it sure didn't stop me from appreciating my Steyr Clubman gas-pipe frame, I took that one to the road for thousands of miles to decide it's merit for myself.

The plate does lend the most rigid and slip-free mounting for a Pletscher rack, and as you mentioned is a near-certain sign of ample tire clearance on the sort of bikes that these were brazed onto.

I guess I was wrong about your frame's grade of tubing, and I'll be interested in hearing how this Swedish frame feels on the road and what country's standards were applied to the steer tube and bb threading and whether the tubing gage (diameter) is Metric (French) or not.

SparkyJoined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 16158
Location: Portland, OR

10/14/17 9:53 PM

I will roll it with a front brake as soon as I get a chance with 700x28s. I too am quite curious.

We were car buying today, and picking up tomorrow after the Pompeii exhibit at the OMSI Science center. Otherwise I'd be tinkering with the bike while it is dry and mid 60^. ;)

It is also long and low compared to a lot from that era. 58.4 TT 170mm Head Tube. No idea what the front end is like yet.

The stays surprisingly ring out when tapped upon, leading me to believe butted?

My Kobe rear stays are very much a muted pipe sound when tapped. IIRC, the 3 main tubes of the Kobe are butted, although 2120. I probably would have passed on that Kobe if not for the forged Suntour front and back dropouts. ;)

Last edited by Sparky on 10/14/17 10:17 PM; edited 3 times in total

SparkyJoined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 16158
Location: Portland, OR

10/14/17 9:58 PM

"Steyr Clubman gas-pipe frame"

2120?

Interestingly I found this old catalog picture. This is pretty much the same placement and grommet drilling/placement on the frame I procured.

Not same model bike as evidenced by the Tange tubing sticker instead of the 531 on the Competition 92309 which my procurement seems to be. This pic is of a 92308 according to the translation of the Swedish text.

And it appears I have found the 10/4 on the BB. I read it was french. But in fact it is just 35 mm X 1mm (25.4 tpi) thread same as french.

But unlike the French and Italians, the Swedish engineers it appears disapproved of the same thread direction on both sides. As Sheldons pages state: "Same thread as French, but fixed cup is left- threaded for reliability."

daddy-oJoined: 12 Apr 2004
Posts: 2977
Location: Springfield

10/15/17 5:08 AM

My 2015 Chinese U-Haul with fenders measures ~1/8" longer c/c from the axle to brake mount, good news I hope. Plus looking at the brake in the 'grommet' photo, if those are long-reach the pad position seems to be in your favor too. If they are less than long-reach you write the ticket. I'm going to be interested in the final product for the brake mounting since I have a similar situation.

dddd, and any other wrenches who know the era, I came in to the sport right as 700c clinchers were introduced. Just to confirm, if a bike was built before '78-'79 it had either tubulars or 27"x something, right? What leads me to the question is early in this thread, before the translation, it seemed likely the frame was fitted with older wheels. Now it's almost a lock for 700c's. In 1985 I bought a Dawes mixte with 27" presta wheels, so presta's no guarantee of rim size. There were some real mongrels in those days, at the wrench level. To wit: this Crescent's BB.